Mark Thomas Inn

Project: Mark Thomas Inn

Architect: John Carl Warnecke & Associates

Landscape Architect: Lawrence Halprin

Interior Designer: James Aldrich

Photographers: Wynn Bollock & Morley Baer

Date Completed: 1955

National A.I.A. Award of Merit 1957

The Mark Thomas Inn, a mile from Monterey, is fitted carefully into a low, shaded California landscape. To quote the architect, John Carl Warnecke, “The design theme was simply that the beauty and sculpture of the trees should dominate; the simple wooden structures should fit quietly in between. The site was developed to fit the buildings, roads, and parking areas into the open spaces between the large 100-year-old oak trees. The architectural organization and style are deliberately casual and subdued to harmonize with the character of the wooded site. The wooded structures are quiet; parked cars are not allowed to intrude; the design seeks to subordinate the structures to the great beauty of the land forms and the trees.” Guests could stay in a luxury double room with a fireplace for $14 a night and had access to the swimming pool and luxurious cabana. The Inn quickly became a destination spot to have a drink in the cocktail lounge and a $6 steak dinner from the restaurant. In the magazine article, The Importance of Good Design, published in 1958 by Bar Management, the inn owner declared, “We find that many people are coming from San Francisco to have a drink and dinner at the new Inn…Our customers also are very fond of the good old standby, the dry martini, and the Manhattan…”